1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the removal of problematic aquatic vegetation from a body of water, and in particular, to a stationary barge apparatus and problematic aquatic vegetation removal system for the removal of problematic vegetation, such as water hyacinth, salvinia, water lily and other aquatic vegetation.
2. Description of Related Art
The water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), indigenous to South America, and commonly found in tropical and subtropical fresh water bodies of the world, such as California, Florida, Texas, and the Gulf Coast region of the United States, is a typical free-floating or shallow rooted water plant. As one of the fastest growing plants in the world, the hyacinth can completely cover small fresh water lakes, harbors, canals, sloughs, and other essentially occluded fresh water bodies. During the summer months, the climate in much of the Southern United States is ideal for water hyacinth growth, often to the dismay of swimming, boating, and fishing enthusiasts, as well as to the dismay of those in the business of navigating through shallow waterways. Water hyacinths typically deposit in excess of 500 tons of decaying plant material on the bottom per year, and under optimum growing conditions, can cover a surface area that doubles about every ten to fifteen days.
The leaves of the water hyacinth are large and broadly lance-like, extending from a generally inflated stalk, and the flowers are generally blue, violet or white. The leaf blades may be up to 8 inches long and 2-6 inches wide, and the roots are dark and fibrous. The plant reproduces either by seed or fragmentation.
Giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) is an aquatic fen classified as a Federal Noxious Weed and prohibited in the United States by Federal law. Although native to South America, it has been introduced to several countries around the world, and notably has caused severe economic and ecological problems in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The weed is currently infesting sites in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and several other states. Salvinia invades lakes, streams, ponds, and bayous, spreading aggressively by vegetative fragments. Salvinia forms floating mats that shade and crowd out important native plants. Thick mats reduce oxygen content and degrade water quality for fish and other aquatic organisms and impede boating, fishing, and swimming. The mats also clog water intakes needed for the generation of electrical power and for irrigation. Salvinia has a very high growth rate and can double its biomass in less than a week under favorable conditions.
Where removal has been undertaken, harvesting has been performed by non-stationary barges which are typically self-powered machines that must navigate through, grind, bail, and/or contain the water vegetation. The biggest disadvantage of these vessels is the difficulty they encounter in navigating through shallow or obstructed water bodies, such as those replete with natural obstacles like fallen trees, and/or stumps. A harvesting barge which may be operated in a stationary mode is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,534, issued to C. B. Bryant on Mar. 31, 1981. The barge has booms, pontoons and deflectors for defining a throat to direct the flow of vegetation, a pickup conveyor with a mesh belt partially submerged in the throat, a discharge conveyor for discharging the vegetation onto dry land or other barges, a pump with an inlet disposed behind the mesh belt of the pickup conveyor for providing suction to draw vegetation into the throat, and pump outlets connected by hoses to outlets positioned at the ends of the booms to direct the flow of vegetation into the throat and to cause turbulence to break up clumps of vegetation. Evidently the pump used in the ""534 device is not a dredge pump, as the vegetation is not transported through the pipes, but by conveyor belts. The ""534 patent also does not teach the use of motorboats or Jon boats to direct the vegetation towards the throat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,033, also issued to Bryant on Feb. 3, 1981, describes a mobile harvesting barge propelled by paddle wheels for navigation through shallow water. U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,258, issued to T. J. McNabb on Jan. 30, 1996, discloses a non-stationary barge which pulls hyacinth from the water by a conveyor having runners, then grinds the hyacinth to a fibrous biomass, bales the biomass and connects the buoyant bales by rope so that they can be pulled to shore for further processing. Non-stationary barges often have multiple moving parts associated with propulsion and navigation systems which can result in harvest interruption, transit time loss, inability to access certain areas, equipment failure, and considerable expense. Thus, self-powered non-stationary harvesting machines have previously not been generally very economical.
Chemical controls have also been tried. Unfortunately, these techniques have undesirable side effects particularly during the summer months when hyacinth growth is at its peak. Herbicides can be toxic to humans, wildlife, beneficial vegetation, crops and the like, and have been proven to be costly and generally ineffective. Floating aquatic vegetation that has been chemically treated results in a decay process that depletes oxygen from the water, reduces fish stock, and harms the ecosystem.
The prior art fails to teach a stationary surface water vegetation removal apparatus and system as described herein. None of the above inventions or patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The water vegetation removal system includes a stationary barge and at least one motorboat equipped with a plow blade or vegetation rake for plowing vegetation on the surface of a body of water into the vicinity of the barge. The system includes a barge with a diesel engine mounted at one end and a pump box attached to the barge which provides a watertight chamber for housing a dredge pump powered by the engine. A hopper box with a spillway gate which may be lowered to admit water is attached to the pump box. A water tray is formed by a pair of walls hingedly attached to the hopper box to funnel vegetation into the hopper box. Vegetation is drawn into the water tray and hopper box by suction applied by an intake pipe from the dredge pump which extends into the hopper box. Vegetation is drawn into the pump and macerated, then discharged through a flexible discharge pipe to the shore for transport.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a system to remove water hyacinth and other problematic floating aquatic vegetation from occluded shallow bodies of water, by macerating the vegetation and then pumping the mulched vegetation onto nearby dry land through a flexible, preferably transparent, discharge hose for disposal.
It is another object of the invention to provide a barge and pumping apparatus that is relatively light-weight and can be conveniently deployed in areas otherwise inaccessible to self-propelled barges.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a stationary barge apparatus that utilizes a pump with extended drawing chambers, spillway and discharge hose which permits an relatively uninterrupted flow of harvested water vegetation from the water surface to a shore area.
Still another object of the invention is to incorporate a light-weight plow means in cooperation with the barge apparatus to form a convenient system that serves the above purposes.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in difficult environments, and in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.